Two of the region's best-loved neighborhood cinema hubs are quietly up for grabs. The Fraiman family has put the Somerville Theatre block in Davis Square and the Capitol Theatre block in East Arlington on the market, a move that has residents trading rumors over coffee and post-screening beers. Brokers say the package also includes a 44-unit apartment building in Davis Square and several ground-floor retail spaces.
According to The Boston Globe, owner Richard Fraiman has listed the roughly 48,000-square-foot Somerville Theatre block and the roughly 50,000-square-foot Capitol Theatre block. Hunneman broker Carl Christie began walking prospective buyers through the properties last week. The Globe notes that both blocks come with street-level retail tenants, and the Capitol block holds about 18 apartments. Christie told the paper Fraiman is ready to retire and that his children are not interested in taking over the real estate.
What's on the market
Hunneman is pitching the three-building Arlington and Somerville portfolio as a single "trophy" package: the Somerville Theatre Building, the Capitol Block and the Bryant Chambers apartment building, together totaling more than 130,000 square feet. The Crexi property flyer pegs the Somerville listing at about 47,500 square feet and spotlights a 900-seat main auditorium plus the renovated Crystal Ballroom upstairs, which can host about 500 people.
Who runs the theaters now
The bricks might be changing hands, but the movie business itself is already under different management. CSB Theatres, a group of longtime managers, took over day-to-day operations last year while the Fraiman family held on to the buildings, Boston.com reported. Coverage in Cambridge Day points out that CSB is led by Ian Judge, Jamie Mattchen and Jay O’Leary, and that the company now holds the leases for both theaters. That landlord-tenant setup is one big reason brokers say buyers are likely to keep the screens lit and the concert calendars full.
What owners say and what patrons fear
Fraiman told the broker he would rather find a single buyer for both properties and said he "hasn’t heard anyone say anything about changing the culture of the theaters," according to The Boston Globe. Even so, the sale of the buildings themselves has some regulars and neighborhood groups nervous that a future landlord could look for higher rents, more control over programming, or even eventual redevelopment. Local arts advocates say they plan to push for sale terms or covenants that lock in the theaters' public and cultural uses.
What buyers would get
Listings on Crexi and LoopNet detail a package that includes about ten commercial suites, long-term street-level retail tenants and dozens of residential units across the three buildings. The marketing materials pitch the portfolio as a transit-accessible, income-producing asset. The Somerville flyer calls out recent spending on audiovisual systems in the Crystal Ballroom and notes stable restaurant tenants at street level, while the Capitol materials emphasize its role as a neighborhood anchor with multiple screening rooms. Potential buyers are being steered to the broker's offering documents and asked to submit letters of intent through the listing agent.
Next steps
For now, the show goes on. When CSB Theatres took over last year, its leaders told local boards they intended to keep the "status quo," according to Boston.com. That promise, along with existing leases, will be front and center for residents who want the venues to remain community fixtures. Neighbors and would-be buyers will be watching how the listing process unfolds and whether any final deal builds in safeguards for the theaters' programming and public access.
